An oxidase is any enzyme that catalyzes an oxidation/reduction reaction involving molecular oxygen (O2) as the electron acceptor. In these reactions, oxygen is reduced to water (H2O) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
The oxidase are a subclass of the oxidoreductases.
Examples
An important example is cytochrome c oxidase, the key enzyme that allows the body to employ oxygen in the generation of energy and the final component of the electron transfer chain. Other examples are:
Oxidase test
In microbiology, the oxidase test is used as a phenotypic character for the identification of bacterial strains; it determines whether a given bacterium produces cytochrome oxidases (and therefore utilizes oxygen with an electron transfer chain).
Bacteria that can or must utilize oxygen are called facultative anaerobic or aerobic bacteria respectively
External links
- Catalase & Oxidase tests video
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